Music and Passion
by Dana E. Vassy
Summary: Mulder needs a favour, and Scully agrees to help out


Title: Music and Passion (1/4)  
Author: Dana E. Vassy  
Rating: G  
Category: Mulder angst, M/F marriage (references) MSR  
Spoilers: Um, Je Souhaite? Not much really..  
Disclaimer: Sometimes, I take musicals and songs and mix   
them up with the X-Files. My therapist says it helps, so   
Chris, Fox, 1013 don't deny me. You'll have them back   
intact (unless you make a hash of season 8) The rights of   
Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Barry Manilow are noted and   
shamelessly monopolised. But don't make me set Hillary on   
you...  
Feedback: She sits there so refined, and drinks herself   
half blind. Send thoughts to   
scullys_no_slut@viceprez.fsnet.co.uk while I can still read   
em..  
Summary: Mulder needs a favour, which results in a theme   
wedding, dancing and a realisation. Inpsired by the Barry  
Manilow songs 'Copacbana' and 'Ready To Take A Chance Again'  
Distribution: Yes to Gossamer/Legacy. Anyone else, please   
ask first. I'll say yes, in all likelihood..  
  
  
***Thursday evening, 6:10pm***  
  
Mulder stared blankly at the card in front of him. Why had   
he left it so damn late? It was typical of his slapdash   
lifestyle: something he had tried to rectify, without   
success, for many years. And now he was left rather   
foolishly with egg on his face.  
  
He had one last hope - a saviour so many times in his past.   
Something he took for granted, but valued more than life   
itself. He hoped this occasion wouldn't be the exception   
that proved the rule.  
  
Ten past six. Scully was late. The realisation of this   
fact hardly inspired him with confidence. She would refuse,   
laugh in his face and make him feel guilty. But for the   
sake of pride, he had to ask.  
  
Five minutes passed, and Scully breezed in the front door.   
Laden with Chinese food and videos, she was puzzled by the   
look of relief on Mulder's face. Surely he wasn't that   
hungry for Thursday night take out?  
  
Making a beeline for the kitchen, she awaited Mulder's   
inevitable interference. Given that some of his cupboards   
hadn't been opened in ten years for health reasons, he   
seemed pretty intent on dishing up the flavoured meats and   
rice. Small talk ensued over the latest case, baseball and   
who was dating whom in the Bureau. Mulder winced as his   
subconscious brutally reminded him of the redhead he wasn't   
dating. The same redhead who stood in front of him,   
wielding a barbecue rib like a deadly weapon. He tried to   
console himself with the fact that he was following at   
least one protocol. It nearly worked.  
  
Having negotiated the food onto plates, and after having   
demolished half the starter before leaving the kitchen,   
Mulder and Scully perched on opposite ends of the well-worn   
sofa. The plates made warm indentations on their laps,   
until Scully rose to insert a tape into the VCR. Mulder   
winced as the opening titles rolled onto the screen. Dirty   
Dancing. The thought of Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze   
almost put him off his Peking duck.  
  
But Scully's face was animated, chewing happily in time to   
the music. She was an entirely different person when it   
came to movies. The strict, meticulous Dana Scully became   
girly and even childish over a stomach-churning romance.   
Mulder suspected she probably owned them all: Casablanca,   
The Way We Were, Sleepless In Seattle, and so on. Maybe it   
was her escape, her release. Similar to himself - the   
contradiction of the sporty intellectual, who could be   
easily contented in either a library or a gym. And if he   
knew anything about Scully, it was that she was rarely one-  
dimensional. There was far more to her essence than what he   
had gleaned, and he only hoped to learn more through   
additional years together.  
  
Like this Thursday night routine. A while back, it would   
have seemed preposterous. Socialising so intentionally   
might have appeared dependent or needy. But now there was   
no pretence, they were life to each other. The need for   
personal space was respected; they went home alone to bed.   
Mulder knew this close friendship was more than he   
deserved, and could never surrender to his carnal desires   
for something more. To have lived just knowing Dana Scully   
would let him die happy, and he knew she was grateful of   
his presence at least some of the time.   
  
The food disposed of, they settled back in their respective   
corners of the couch. Catching Scully's eye, Mulder began   
to make mock choking sounds.  
  
"Please...Scully...the sappiness is killing me..."  
  
She simply glared at him, and began to tap her small feet   
in time to the dance scene now playing out on the video.  
  
"How many other people would you subject to this, huh?   
Is it your preferred mode of torture?"  
  
His sarcastic tone and calculated pout got a proper   
reaction.  
  
"Mulder, you're my friend. It's part of the job   
description. I still haven't forgiven you for the   
Caddyshack incident."  
  
There it was, the perfect cue for his invitation. The   
chance he had needed, and Scully had gifted it to him.   
With that as an omen, there was no way she could refuse.  
  
"Scully, since friends do these favours..."  
  
She burst out laughing at that point, leaving a bewildered   
Mulder to gape at her. Then he realised what he had just   
said. Joining in her raucous laughter, he was glad of the   
break in his personal tension.  
  
"I didn't intend to proposition you for sexual favours.   
Unless you're offering?"  
  
Before she could suppress her giggles and answer, he   
plunged on.  
  
"The favour I need is fairly innocent. An old friend   
of mine is getting married on Saturday. She was my   
girlfriend for a very brief time..."  
  
Scully's expression changed momentarily. If he hadn't been   
focused so intently on her, he might have missed the   
flicker. But surely it wasn't jealousy?  
  
"The thing is, a lot of people I used to know will be   
there. I can't get out of it, and it would be open season   
on me if I were to show up without a date. I'd be   
avalanched with mockery from all the arrogant ones, and   
pity from all the 'smug marrieds'. So could you possibly   
accompany me, if it's not any inconvenience? I'll let you   
choose the movie for the next month if you do..."  
  
Scully seemed lost in thought, like someone trying to   
recall a fragment of a long-forgotten song. She let him   
hang on a little while longer.  
  
"I'll help you out just this once. But you'll have to   
cover for me tomorrow, while I pick out an outfit."  
  
Success! Just one last hurdle to overcome. His zany   
friends would take a little explaining.  
  
"Well, that's dealt with. You see, it's a civil   
ceremony, and these people have sort of strange ideas. A   
lot of them went to university with me in England. There's   
a theme."  
  
"If it's Star Trek, I revoke my acceptance."  
  
Mulder almost laughed aloud at the mix of sarcasm and panic   
in Scully's voice. He could have so much fun with this.  
  
"Nope, these are pretentious literary types, Scully.   
We've been asked to dress as a romantic couple from the   
theatre - Anna and the King of Siam to be precise."  
  
Her face contorted, at first appearance, in rage. But as   
Scully dissolved into another fit of laughter, Mulder knew   
he was home safe. He had solved his crisis, and would show   
up with a beautiful date to this crazy wedding. All that   
remained was to make arrangements for the coming Saturday.  



End file.
